Long Story
by Storms of Fire
Summary: It's a long story was an understatement, he thought as Jo stood there at his door, photo in hand. Waving it at him as though it was an accusing finger. How was he ever going to explain this one to her? And would she believe him? Discontinued and being rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome. I just found out not too long ago that this great tv show has been canceled. While the season finale was amazing, it left so many unanswered questions. This is my views of what would happen next.**

 **Even though I am supposed to be giving my hand a rest, I have decided to write this. Let me know if I should continue it. Also, if you have time, drop by my other Forever fanfic that I started before the season finale and let me know if I should continue and just make it something like an alternative ending. Thank you.**

"I also found this," Jo said, holding up a black and white picture revealing that it was one with myself, Abigail and baby Abraham. I swallowed, my heart racing against my chest. My throat felt completely dry.

"Care to explain this?" Jo asked. The look on her face seemed to say that she meant business and that I had better not bullshit her.

Abe leaned over toward me. "Tell her." He said in my ear. He said it in a demanding tone.

"Well..." I started. It was hard to force the words out. It was as if my throat was caving in on itself. I gave some sort of a weary smile. "It's a long story." I said, holding up my hands innocently. How was I going to explain this one?

"I've got time." Jo said. She wasn't going to let this one go.

I sighed silently. "Alright. Come in. We have a lot to discuss." I moved out of the doorway and let her step inside. "Abe, would you go and make us a cup of tea please."

"Of course!" Abe replied. He slipped away and headed up towards the kitchen.

I turned back to Jo. "Follow me." I said. The whole time my heart was pounding against my chest. _There was no dodging this bullet, is there? Maybe I could tell her a lie. No, no. That would be wrong. And she would catch it. But if I were to tell her the truth she would think of me as crazy. What if I had Abe tell her. No, then she would think he is crazy._

And then a thought crossed my mind. One of Abigail, watching as the life drained away, the cause a gapping wound. Blood gushed from it, coating my clothing in the blackening liquid. I disappeared before he eyes. When I had come back, the look in her eyes. The happiness to see me. She had believed what I had to say.

Maybe, just maybe.

No. It wouldn't be right to put her through the pain that Abigail had gone through. I couldn't do that to Jo. I had no choice but to do it to Abigail. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Abe would have to be the one to explain things to her, and even then there may be a chance that she wouldn't believe. She would probably go crazy.

"Henry?" Th detective's voice brought me back to reality.

"Sorry." I sighed and shook my head. "Caught in thought."

"You always seem that way," Jo replied. "Now." She held up the photo again. "Care to explain this?"

"Well," I took the photo, looking at it. A wave of depression hit me at the sight of it. Memories flooded my mind. _I promise you that as long as I live, I will always love you._ What I had said to her was the truth. I would never forget her.

"Henry." Jo said again. Her voice was sharp. She was getting irritated.

"Sorry..."

'Let me guess. You got lost in thought again." Jo sighed.

"Yeah." I said. "I'm just trying to figure out how to say this to you."

"Say what?" She asked.

"You really are persistent, aren't you?" I chuckled nervously. "Well..."

Abe entered the room carrying a silver tray with three cups, a tea pot, cream amd sugar on it. He sat it down on a table. "For God's sake, just tell her already. If you don't, I will."

"You know?" Jo asked.

Before Abe could say anything else, I shot him a glare. If anyone was going to tell the detective, it was going to be me. My son seemed to understand, because he nodded and backed off. I turned back to Jo. "Please take a seat. I will be right back. I need a quick word with my roommate." She nodded and sat down. Abe and I went back into the shop.

"What is it?" The old man asked.

"What do you mean 'what is it?'" I asked. "How the hell am I going to explain this to her?"

"Just come out and say it, pops." Abe said as though it was obvious.

"It isn't that easy." I said. "She would think I am insane."

"Well how did you tell mom?" Abe asked.

"I didn't exactly tell your mother. She saw me, you know, disappear." I said.

Abe looked at me.

"No." I responded as though I could read his mind. "No. No way in hell would I put her through that."

"Well then. Want me to tell her?" Abe asked.

"No."

"You need to make up your mind. Either you march yourself in there right now and tell her or I will." Abe demanded.

"Tell me what?"

I turned around. Jo had entered the room. "Well..."

"Henry. Tell me now." Jo said. She crossed her arms.

"Sit... down." I sighed. "You will need to for this." The detective hesitantly sat down in the nearest chair.

I took a deep breath. "Jo... I am immortal."

Silence filled the room for what seemed like minutes. I was quietly begging for her to say something, anything. Until finally, Jo looked at me, laughed and said.

"No seriously. Don't joke. Tell me the truth."

 **Please review and let me know if I should continue.**

 **-Storm-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello. Welcome to the next chapter. I received a tip to change this to third person point of view and I wanted to know the other readers opinions on this matter before proceeding to do that. I don't want to end up upsetting my viewers. Your input on that would be appreciated, thank you.**

 _ **~Henry's Point Of View~**_

I was afraid that was what Jo would say. I looked at Abe, pondering my next move. My son looked as unshocked as I was. I didn't blame her for not believing. If it hadn't happened myself, then I wouldn't believe it either. It sounded as though it were something from a madman's dream.

"I am not joking." I told Jo, my voice stern.

The detective blinked, silent for a few few moments before asking. "Are you feeling well Henry?"

"I am fine." I sighed and shook my head. "I am telling the truth. I can't die."

"You have been working too hard lately," Jo told me. "You need to relax. It is all going to your head."

"I am not crazy, Jo." I said. Memories of Nora flashed in my mind, bringing me back to when I tried to convince her of what had happened to me. She forced me to go to an asylum where they introduced me to... unspeakable torture. I wasn't about to let that happen again. No matter how much she pleaded, I would have to proceed on through. If she stopped me now, there would be no way she would ever believe me.

"Abe?" I said.

"Yeah?" The old man looked at me curiously.

"Give me a pocket knife."

He blinked, yet said nothing as he dug in his pocket and brought one out. He placed it in my opened hand.

"What are you doing with that?" Jo stuttered.

I said nothing to her as I sighed. I hadn't wanted it to come to this. I really hadn't. "River." I said to Abe. He nodded, understanding. I pulled the picket knife up to my wrist. "Don't let her get away. Don't let her go to the police or anything else. Take her straight to the river."

"Henry what are you doing?" Jo swallowed.

I said nothing more as I slit my wrist clean open. I was greeted with a searing pain as blood gushed from the new wound

"Henry!" Jo shouted, knocking the chair over as she jolted up. Abe held her back.

"I'm sorry but this is the only way." I was beginning to feel dizzy. I had cut deep and the dark liquid gushed, staining the floor. I made no heed to stop it. It wasn't long before my vision faded and I found myself in the river. I spit out the bitter water that had rushed into my mouth and swam to the shore, praying that no one would see me and call the cops. I had made that mistake before, and ended up in therapy. Wasn't the best idea either. That had been the first time I had come face to face with Adam who had assumed the identity of my psychologist.

I looked around, trying to find something to shield my body before I received another violation for publish nudity. I was racking up on those here recently. It wasn't really my fault I always returned in water, bur how was I to explain any of that to the NYPD? I could see the newspaper headline now:

 _Insane medical examiner believes he died and came back to life in the water._

And if they did believe me. I couldn't even imagine what would be done to me then. Probably drain my blood in the name of science or introduce me to the most horrific deaths possible just to see if they could kill me off for good.

I saw a car pulling up that I recognized to be Abe's. I could see Jo shaking and trembling in the front seat. A pang of guilt hit me. To think what must be going through her mind at that moment.

 _ **~Jo's Point of View~**_

"Henry!" I shouted as he slit his wrist. He had to be insane! He was going to kill himself just trying to prove a crazy theory of his! "Henry!" I jumped up and tried to rush to him, but Abe held me back. I fought against him, trying to pull away. I had to help Henry.

"I am sorry but this is the only way." He said. The blood gushing from the wound didn't even seem to bother him. The dark scarlet liquid dripped to the floor, creating a large puddle.

"Let me go!" I shouted at Abe. "Let me go! I have to help him! I have to get him to a hospital before he dies!"

His grip on me only tightened. For an old man, he had strength. I could do nothing as Henry stood there, bleeding to death and then...

And then...

He...

He _disappeared._

 _"H-Henry?"_ My voice echoed. I barely recognized it as my own. My body was shaking. What had just happened? Where did he go? One minute he was standing there as blood gushed from his wrist and then... it was as though he had disappeared in thin air. The only evidence that he had been was the puddle of the dark liquid.

"Come on." Abe didn't look surprised at all. His voice was calm. "We have to go to the river. Wait here." He disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a wad of clothes bundled in his hand.

I had no will to fight as he herded me out the door and into the passenger seat of his car. He got in the driver's seat and started.

I said nothing. I just sat in silence, my body still trembling, as he drove. I brought my knees up against my chest. My heart raced and my head spun. I couldn't even begin to grasp what I had just saw.

Finally, the vehicle stopped. I looked out and my eyes widened. I couldn't believe it. There Henry was, standing there nude in front of the car.

I had to be going crazy.

 **End of chapter. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back for another chapter, everyone! I am going to start writing in third person. I will go back and eventually edit the last two chapters. Let me know what you like better. The third person or the first person point of view. Or if I should use third person for present time and first person for flash backs.**

 **Also, over 30 followers and 15 reviews (at the time I posted this chapter. May be more now) thanks guys. :) means a lot to know people are reading this.**

 **Enjoy this chapter. :)**

 _ **~Henry's Point of View~**_

"Now do you believe me?" Henry asked as the detective stepped out of Abe's car. His son tossed him a wad of clothing which he gracefully accepted, proceeding to put the outfit on before he was caught streaking. Henry straightened out his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles before turning his gaze to Jo. She hadn't responded to his question. She just continued to stand there and stare at him. Her face was drained from color and her hands were pressed against her sides, clenched into fists and shaking.

"Jo?" Henry asked. He was concerned for her. He could only imagine what was racing through her mind at that moment. He may have watched as his loved ones passed on around him, but he never saw one disappear right before his eyes as he just did.

"Look," Henry sighed. "I am sorry that I did that to you. I admit that it wasn't right to put you through that kind of emotional pain, but it was the only thing I could think of to convince you that I wasn't crazy crazy and was telling the truth."

Henry could see tears in the detective's eyes. She lunged toward him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. "I thought you were dead..." she whispered. He could hear a sob in her voice. "W-Why did you disappear? What happened?"

"I was dead." Henry said, speaking in a soft tone so that only Jo could hear. "I was dead for a few seconds, but then came back to life."

"H-How?" She struggled to get out, still clinging onto him as though she feared he would disappear again. "Oh God... am I going crazy."

"No. You are perfectly sane." Henry told her, patting her back. He glanced over at his son. "Abe, lets get her back to the shop. We can explain everything there."

"Right," Abe said, rubbing his hands together. "Lets go."

Henry helped Jo back to his son's car, opening the door and allowing her to sit down. She looked so pale. He didn't blame her. This was a lot to take in for anyone. The car ride back was one in complete silence. Henry kept going over and over in his head how he would tell his story to Jo. It had been so long since he told anyone about his story. Abigail and of course Abe were two of the only people he ever spoke of it too, besides Adam.

He shuddered slightly at that name. Adam was a sick man. But was he always that way. He once told Henry that he had died trying to save someone and that 2000 years had made him this way.

Henry silently pledged he would never be reduced to being as demented as Adam had become.

He opened the door for Jo once they reached the shop, leading her back inside. Abe put on another pot of tea. The one that had been made earlier had grown cold.

Henry sat down on a sofa and patted beside him to tell the detective to do the same. She sat down beside him.

"So what is going on?" Jo asked. "Why did you disappear and come back? Why were you naked? Why were you in the river?" The questions poured out of her mouth.

Henry sighed and swallowed. His throat suddenly went dry. It was hard to talk about his conditions alone, let alone tell another human being.

"Jo, how old do you think I am?" Henry asked.

She blinked and looked st him, confused. "Your file says you are 35."

"Yeah, well my file is wrong." Henry said. "That was made up in order to protect me. I am not 35 years old."

"But-"

"I lied about my actual age, Jo. Because I am not 35 years old." He repeated. "I am actually 236 years old."

"W-What... how is this possible?" Jo asked. She was stunned.

"It started back April 7th 1814. I was a doctor aboard the slave ship this ship called _Empress of Africa._ I was murdered by the crew with the captain's flintlock pistol while trying to help free the slaves and prevent the murder of an ill captive. They threw me overboard, and that is why I always appear back in water when I die and come back." Henry explained.

"But why?"

"That I can not even tell you because I so not know why myself. I know that the weapon caused me to be this way, but I am not sure why it has." Henry said.

"Then who is in the photo?" Jo asked him, picking it up from an end table where it had been laid prior to Henry having to kill himself right in front of her.

Henry took it from her. Painful memories hit him yet again. "Abigail..." he whispered. He could feel the tears threatening to burst from his eyes. They looked so happy in the photo. Looked so much like a proper family. He missed her so much.

 _"I promise you that I will always love you as long as I am living." H_ e had once promised her. And it was true. No matter if he found someone else, there would always remain a part of him that would love Abigail. She had taught him how to live again, how to trust again.

The detective nodded. "And the baby?"

"Me." Abe said, coming into the room with more tea. "The baby is me."

"Then that means..." Jo cut "off.

"That Abe is my son?" Henry asked. "Yes. He is."

"This... this is a lot to take in..." Jo sighed.

"I know." Henry said. "I know."

 **End of this chapter. :) see you guys in the next one.**

 **\- Storm -**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, hello. Welcome back!**

 _ **~Henry's Point of View~**_

"Okay..." Jo said after a long pause. Henry was glad that she had broke the silence. The tension had built up between the three. He wasn't sure what was going through the young detective's mind. Did she truly believe him now? Or was she thinking that she herself was going insane.

"Okay..." Jo breathed again. "I have another question."

"What may that be?" Henry asked.

"Why was this photo and your pocket watch down below the subway?" She asked.

Henry sighed. He wasn't ready to tell her _that much_. He wasn't ready for her to fins out about Adam. What if she went to the NYPD? What if his secret got out even further? "It's complicated." He finally decided to say.

"Henry..." Jo sighed in frustration. "No more secrets." She said each word with a pause in between, as if she was trying to force them out. "I have had it with all these secrets."

"I am sorry, Jo, but it is complicated." Henry shook his head, placing his forehead in the palm of his head. He barely understood it himself. How could he even begin to explain Adam? How could he even begin to explain how that sick twisted man had somehow found out everything about him? How could he even begin to explain what had happened to Abigail?

"Well, all in do time." Jo said, seeming to understand. She got up. "I, uh, I need to get going... it is getting late."

"You can stay here for the night." Abe offered. It was the first time he had spoken in a while.

"Thank you, but I... I need to be alone for a while. This is a lot to take in..." she told the older man.

"Tell me about it." Henry sighed before also getting up. "I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow?"

"I... don't know. I may take a few days off." Jo told him. "I need some time to think."

Henry nodded, understanding. It had been a lot for himself to take in at first. He didn't know what to think of it, being a man of science. But miracles could happen, or should he say curses. At first he found it exciting. Being forever young, not having to wrinkle with age. But then, as he saw his life crumple apart around him and as his loved ones slowly grew old and died. It became a curse.

Henry thought back to what the priest had told him in the prison he had been transferred to. That his condition was a blessing and that he had a purpose. A purpose for what, he wondered. A purpose to watch his loved ones die? A purpose to feel utterly betrayed by his wife and then forcefully drug to an asylum? Where he underwent curse treatment and hydrotherapy which was much more like waterboarding than actual therapy. Henry shuddered. That feeling of drowning, only you are not. How could people even begin to think that was a good idea for treatment. It was more like torture. Then again, it had pressured Henry to lie and say he made his immortality up in order to try to get them to stop the hydrotherapy.

Though, Henry had to admit, if he hadn't died and come back to life on that damned ship, he wouldn't have been able to meet Abigail and to have had the pleasure of falling in love and raising their adopted son, Abraham. He counted them both as blessings.

And he would have never been able to meet and get to know Jo either. He was lucky to have her as a friend. So much so that he felt something stir inside of him. Something he hadn't felt in a while. Something he had been missing since the disappearance of Abigail.

Henry thought back to what Abe had told him.

" _You may not be able to die, but you haven't lived in a while._ "

As much as Henry hated to admit it, but his adopted son was right. He hadn't truly lived in a while. Maybe it was about time he started to again. He thought he was ready when he had went out on a date with that one woman. Iona Payne. Henry thought he had been ready then, but he wasn't. Or maybe it was with just the wrong person. He shared a connected with her, and that was pain. He thought that she could help him let go of the past.

Henry picked up the photograph, staring at it, or rather staring at Abigail. She wouldn't have wanted him to mope around, grieving about her and being afraid to get out. She would want him to get out and live his life.

Maybe it was time to feel again, Henry thought. Maybe it was time to take a chance with Jo. After all, she already knew his secret. Though, there was yet so much he hadn't told her. In due time, though. She had once told him:

 _"Some day you'll let me in, when you're ready."_

 _I am ready now, Jo._ He thought. He hadn't told anyone his story in so long. It would feel good to be able to get things off of his chest. To finally tell everything that had haunted him all those years. Henry felt like he could trust Jo, for some reason. She wasn't like other people he had met. With a little persuasion he had been able to convince her of his immortality. She hadn't tried to throw him into an asylum as Nora had. Jo instead took the path that Abigail had walked down. She had believed him, and that was more than he could say about most people.

"You okay, pops?" Abe asked.

"I am now." Henry said with a slight smile. "I am now."

 **End of chapter. Sorry to cut this one so short. I wanted to end it on a certain note. I have some interesting plans for the future. :) let me know if I made any typos please. I feel like I made some.**

 **Please review! See you in the next chapter!**

 **-Storm-**


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't felt that good lately. And And I had a huge bout of writers block. I shall be continuing this now though. :) again sorry for the huge delay between chapters.**

 _ **~Henry's Point of View~**_

The same paperwork that Lucas had used to hide the dagger in. A pang of guilt hit him. He hadn't seen the younger man anywhere.

Henry returned to work the following morning, worry setting on his mind. He wondered if Jo would have made it back to work by now. To be fair, what he had revealed to her had been a huge surprise. Not to mention, Jo had also watched him die, disappear and then reappear in the river as though nothing had happened.

Henry sighed upon entering his office to find a stack of paper work. The same paperwork that Lucas had used go hide the dagger under. A pang of guilt hit him. He hadn't seen the younger man anywhere that morning. Lucas had had risked quite a lot with supplying him with Adam's dagger. They probably fired him and it was all Henry's fault.

Henry shook his head and sat down at his desk. His head was pounding and he now had a sickening feeling as his stomach twisted into a knot. If Lucas had been fired it _would b_ e his fault. Henry felt felt like his assistant had been pressed to carrying out the task of basically stealing the dagger for Henry.

Henry looked down at the pile of paperwork. Just the usual stuff. Observations on dead bodies. One ruled as accidental, one as suicide. One that really caught his eye. The file must have just been laid on his desk that morning. He picked it up, studying it. A young man, the age of twenty-five. Dark, shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes. The picture of the man showed that he has pale skin. Most surely a man who worked at an office or spent too much time indoors staring at a computer screen.

The man's name was Thomas Anders. The name didn't ring a bell to him. Well, no use in putting things off any longer. He might as well examine the body now and get it over with. He sanitized his hands and put on a pair of clean gloves.

As he brought the corpse from the freezer, he noticed something right off the bat. There seemed to be a small, needle point puncture in the man's thigh as though he had been injected with something. There was also bits of dried blood around his mouth. His sides and chest were also bruised.

Henry checked the file again, scanning over it to see if it told anything about what Thomas' last day on earth was like. If he had visited a doctor or had any recent vaccines. The file file gave no such details. Henry sighed and proceeded to cut the corpse open to examine the insides to to check for any abnormalities.

Henry continued to do the autopsy in silence. It was so different without having Lucas to help him with the procedure. It was oddly quiet. Henry had to admit that he had grown use to his assistant chatting his ear off while helping him.

Several of the man's bones were shattered. That included five of his ribs, his pelvic bone and one of his arms. How had he not noticed that before cutting the victim open. One of the broken ribs was lodged into his right lung. He died choking on his own blood.

Henry had the cause of death down, sort of. He still didn't know how he received the injuries that resorted in his demise. Hit by a car? No, there was no black marks or paint scraps anywhere on the body. Did he get into a rough fight with someone? Henry lifted the man's hand, looking underneath the fingernails. There was something there. He got a pair of tweezers and pulled it out. Skin particles.

"Lucas take this to..." Henry trailed off as he remembered again that his assistant was no longer there. He sighed and carefully put the skin particle onto a petri dish to have it looked at later.

Maybe this was a murder after all. He sewed the body back up and put the corpse back in the freezer before disposing of the gloves. He picked up the phone, wanting to call Jo amd discuss this with her, but didn't. Instead he just stood there, the buzz of the dial tone echoing in his ear. Jo would come to him when she was ready. If she would ever be ready. Henry placed the phone back on the hook.

 _ **Jo's Point of View~**_

She hadn't bothered going to work that day, having called in using an excuse that she had the flu. She She hadn't bothered crawling out of bed in fear that her legs would collapse beneath her. She was so confused. Her head was swarmed with so many questions that it just hurt to think of anything else. What the hell had she witnessed at Abe's Antiques? Was it just a dream? did Henry really disappear only to come back?

Jo groaned amd pulled her blanket over her head with her eyes closing. She wanted to get those images of Henry standing there, bleeding to death in front of her very eyes. The blood gushing from his wrists and painting his arms crimson. Abe holding her back and not letting her call 911.

Jo's breathing was heavy. No matter how hard she tried to push those images out of her mind, they just came back. Stronger and stringer. To the point of which she was being driven insane.

She had called into work not only for witnessing such a traumatic event, but also because she didn't want to risk bumping into Henry. What would she say to him after what he had showed her?

And of he was truly immortal then... that feeling she felt seep down for the man. It could never be expressed. She hadn't felt anything as strong as she felt for Henry. Not since her husband had died. And now it was being ripped out from underneath her. How could she ever carry out a relationship with a man who would remain young forever as she grew older and older until one day she would be dead and he would still be there. Carrying on life forever.

 **End of chapter. Please review! Tell me what you think! I always love hearing your opinions and appreciate every one of you viewers. It means a lot that you take time to read what I have to share. :)**

 **\- Storm -**


	6. ANNOUNCEMENT

**i apologize for the long wait but the rewrite it out. It is titled Touch of Grey.**

 **Storm**


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